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Retirement is always a challenging stage of life, with insurance just a part of the obstacle course. Future retirees need to really consider health insurance, life insurance and annuities as part of their future retirement strategy.

If health insurance seems complicated to you, imagine how it feels for your clients who don’t deal with insurance on a daily basis. You have many different options you can steer them towards, including Medicaid/Medicare for those age 65 and over.

Senior citizens cannot count on their employers providing them with health care after they retire, mostly due to the high costs companies incur due to health insurance policies for their employees. While you must have health insurance coverage until age 65, Medicare will kick in after that for those who won’t be able to afford individual health insurance policies. No one wants to be caught without insurance, because a serious accident or medical issue could decimate a savings account or retirement funds in no time.

Being prepared for these types of questions will make your job a whole lot easier. The health insurance industry can be very difficult to navigate, so everything you learn now will help both you and your clients later on.

When it comes to life insurance, your client may not need a policy, especially if they’ve been diligent about saving. They may also be receiving a pension along with Social Security benefits. When it comes to investing in retirement, the best bet is to focus on IRAs and/or 401(k)s instead of purchasing a life insurance policy later in life. If your client is just now thinking about purchasing a life insurance policy, give them the rundown and let them decide if it’s worth their while. If they are really gung ho about it, have them consider term insurance versus cash-value.

Instead of life insurance, a better option might be annuities. Annuities are a great insurance product that works really well with any retirement strategy. Annuities do involve investing, so your client will need to invest in the annuity and collect payments further down the road, either as a lump sum or in smaller monthly payments.

There are several different types of annuities you can turn to, such as immediate or deferred. That is, paying out soon after the initial investment is made or letting the money accumulate until the owner wants to collect.

Whether your client plans to go with your recommendations or not, you will at least get them headed in the right direction. Some people may need you to guide them through the whole process, while others may just need advice.

The views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of ProducersWEB.

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